PLANS FOR INVENTIONS,, 1936, 1942-1943, 1949-1951, 1953, 1957, and undated

Summary: Documentation of Henry Burfeind's inventions and his ideas for possible inventions. His plans pertain to two different subjects: navy and non-military plans for inventions. Included in the records are blueprints, diagrams, reports, correspondence, notes, a patent, and a few photographs.

Burfeind's inventions for the navy include a bomb sight for airships (1942-1943), a ground handling winch system for airships recognized by a US patent (1951), and explosive echo ranging for attacking submarines (1957). Additional inventions for airships include a sway brace for exterior bombs and an ejector chute (both circa 1943), and a valve to measure ballonet fullness (1951). His non-military plans, which span from 1936 through retirement, are simply ideas for inventions that were often jotted down on small note paper, hotel stationery, or envelopes. These informally written ideas reveal an inventor-at-heart with a lifelong inclination to take something, usually mechanical, and make it better. His notes include sketches, diagrams, and formulas for possible inventions such as a sleeping cape, automatic car wash, speed sensitive volume control for automobile radios, water injection to improve auto mileage, and a rotary gas engine.